


keep on (haunting me)

by mseg_21



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie moves in, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Ghosts, Halloween, Haunted Houses, M/M, Reddie, Richie is a ghost, Spooky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mseg_21/pseuds/mseg_21
Summary: “This place is haunted?”“That’s what the past couple of owners have told me.” The realtor said, letting out a nervous laugh. “But that’s ridiculous! There’s no such thing as ghosts, besides no one has ever died in this house, I looked it up.”Ben gulped nervously, Eddie was surprised to realize he didn’t really care. He knew there had to be something wrong with the house, but as far as catches go, a ghost was better than the house being infested by rats or cockroaches or something like that.“Surely a big tough man like you wouldn’t be frightened by a little ghost anyway right?”“Not at all.” Eddie replied even if it was clear she’d been talking to Ben, who was eyeing the house suspiciously. “In fact, I’d welcome some company.”Ben turned to face Eddie with shock. Eddie shrugged, he didn’t care about Ben’s opinion on this place being haunted. He was here to tell Eddie if the foundation was intact and he already had so Eddie decided to ignore him. He turned to the realtor.“I’ll take it.”The woman smiled and Ben ducked his head with a sigh.





	keep on (haunting me)

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE 👻

It was perfect. A little townhouse with a master bedroom, an ensuite bathroom, a fully equipped kitchen, a living room and even a second smaller room that was the perfect size for a study. It was too good to be true, especially at the price the realtor was offering, making Eddie think that there had to be some catch. 

That didn’t stop him from wandering around for a good hour _ ohhing _ and _ ahhing _to Ben over all it had to offer and asking the realtor, a young woman, about black mold, possible water damage and termites, smiling when she diffused each and one of his worries. 

“This place is great.” Eddie said when the tour was over. “But I have to ask, why is it so cheap?”

The woman jolted and put up as sweet of a face as she could. “Ah well that’s⎯ that would be because of the hauntings.” 

Ben immediately tensed up next to Eddie, looking around with round, frightened eyes. “This place is haunted?”

“That’s what the past couple of owners have told me.” The realtor said, letting out a nervous laugh. “But that’s ridiculous! There’s no such thing as ghosts, besides no one has ever died in this house, I looked it up.”

Ben gulped nervously, Eddie was surprised to realize he didn’t really care. He knew there had to be _ something, _but as far as catches go, a ghost was better than the house being infested by rats or cockroaches or something like that. 

“Surely a big tough man like you wouldn’t be frightened by a little ghost anyway right?” 

“Not at all.” Eddie replied even if it was clear she’d been talking to Ben, who was eyeing the house suspiciously. “In fact, I’d welcome some company.”

Ben turned to face Eddie with shock. Eddie shrugged, he didn’t care about Ben’s opinion on this place being haunted. He was here to tell Eddie if the foundation was intact and he already had so Eddie decided to ignore him. He turned to the realtor.

“I’ll take it.” The woman smiled and Ben ducked his head with a sigh.

Eddie wasn’t particularly superstitious so the idea of living in a haunted house didn’t bother him in the slightest. Less than a month after buying it, he was ready to move in. With the help of his friends and former roommates he got all of his things moved in just a day. Ben kept glancing around nervously as he carried Eddie’s boxes in as if expecting Casper to jump out of the shadows. On one occasion, Bill hid behind a wall and jumped out in front of Ben, scaring the shit out of him. Eddie laughed⎯ until he realized the jump scare had made Ben drop one of his boxes and then he was on Bill, berating him for almost getting his coffee machine broken. 

It was dark outside by the time his friends left, leaving Eddie alone in his new house. He felt extremely tired and wanted to go to sleep right away but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it without at least unpacking his nightly essentials and his brand new bed linens. 

He was halfway through his night time routine, brushing his teeth in front of the mirror when he thought he saw a silhouette next to his reflection. He dropped the toothbrush and whirled around but there was no one there. 

“Of course there isn’t, Eddie.” He muttered, shaking his head at himself. “The realtor must’ve gotten that haunted thing stuck in your head.” He picked up the toothbrush, finished getting ready and went to bed. 

The next morning came too soon and Eddie hid under the covers for as long as he could. He had the day off from work but there was still so much to do⎯ finish unpacking, go grocery shopping and clean the entire house. 

He made himself some coffee knowing he would need it and went looking for the box that contained his mugs. Slight confusion swept over him when he saw that most of the kitchenware was already unpacked, including his mugs. Eddie frowned, trying to remember if he had unpacked them last night. Maybe he’d done it in a haze of sleep or maybe Bill and Ben did it without him noticing. 

Thinking nothing more of it, he drank his coffee before getting to work slowly turning the house into his own. He worked in the kitchen first, he cleaned the cupboards and drawers before filling them with the remaining plates and cups, utensils and a few dry foodstuffs he brought with him. After a couple of hours he moved on to the bathroom, he cleaned it as thoroughly as he’d cleaned the kitchen and reorganized what he’d already unpacked last night. 

Eddie knew the rooms would take more time so he opted to take a break and head out to the corner market to get food, now that his fridge was up and running and thoroughly cleaned. He started working on the rooms, playing some music to make the task more manageable. 

By the time he finished, the place looked like an actual home and Eddie decided to reward himself with a movie. Since his TV wouldn’t be installed until tomorrow, his laptop would just have to do. He lost some time trying to find the charger, which he could’ve sworn he’d put just on top of the laptop but had somehow ended up in the bathroom sink, much to Eddie’s confusion. 

Days passed and it felt like Eddie was constantly losing his mind, things would go missing, turn up in the most random of places and he would have no recollection of putting them there, like his keys appearing in a kitchen cupboard instead of hanging near the door where he was sure he’d left them. He would brush it off as being half asleep most of the time. 

Paranoia really started to set in when he also started hearing noises at night, quiet bumps and shuffling and when he started seeing things move across hallways.

“I think you should move out.” Ben said one day when visiting him. He would glance behind him worriedly every once in a while, looking like he was ready to bolt for the door the moment he saw or heard anything weird.

Eddie rolled his eyes, he wasn’t surprised by that suggestion. “And where would I live, Ben?”

“Someplace that isn’t haunted.” Ben told him matter-of-factly.

“Eddie’s place isn’t haunted.” Bill said from Eddie’s phone. When he couldn’t make it to dinner he demanded to be included via phone call. “And even if it was, a ghost that hides your stuff? That doesn’t sound so scary. You know what’s scary? Being homeless. Don’t listen to him, Ed.”

Eddie didn’t listen to Ben and he ignored the weird things that kept happening even if it became harder to do. 

Like one night when Eddie was doing the dishes and he got the feeling that someone was watching him. He brushed it off, focusing hard on scrubbing a plate but when he looked up to stare out the window, he ended up dropping it on the sink, seeing someone standing behind him like that first night in the bathroom. 

He whirled around but just like that night, he didn’t see anyone there. Still, his heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. 

“Fucking shit.” Eddie gasped, leaning back against the sink to try and catch his breath, eyes closed. “Get yourself together Eddie, fuck. You’re just fucking seeing things.” 

“Wow! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” 

Eddie’s eyes snapped open and he let out a screech because he _ heard _that. He definitely heard that. “Who’s there?” He asked, not sure if he wanted to receive an answer. 

When he didn’t get one, he covered his face with his hands. “Fuck, maybe Ben is right.” 

A week went by and Eddie had no more ghostly run ins. Nothing was misplaced, in fact nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. Eddie thought maybe the ghost gave up trying to scare him off or he was actually getting enough sleep that his tired mind stopped playing tricks on him. Yeah, that made more sense. 

Eddie let himself relax, forgetting about the house being haunted.

That didn’t last long.

One night Eddie was making dinner or he would’ve been, if he could get his hands on the pot that he needed only someone, probably Ben the last time he was here, had put it in the upper cabinet, out of Eddie’s reach.

“Damn it.” He muttered and stomped over to the living room to get a stool he could climb on. 

When he made it back to the kitchen though, he found that he wouldn’t be needing the stool. The pot was waiting for him in the kitchen isle. 

“What the fuck?” 

There was no way Eddie imagined that, he was one hundred percent sure that he didn’t grab the pot himself and unless Ben was hiding in the fridge trying to prank Eddie, someone else was in the house. Or some_ thing _.

“Okay.” Eddie said, taking it in. “Well. Thank you, I guess.” 

“You’re welcome cutey.” 

Eddie felt a chill run up his spine, hearing the same voice from last time. He forgot about the pot and the dinner and instead grabbed his car keys and ran out of the house, cursing under his breath. “What the fuck, what the fuck, what the _ fucking _fuck.” 

He thought about calling Bill or Ben but he knew he would get yelled at either way. Instead he drove the car around the neighborhood until he came to terms with the fact that his new house was, in fact, haunted. 

It wasn’t until an hour later that he made it back, walking into the kitchen with something close to determination. The room looked empty but Eddie knew that didn’t mean he was alone.

“Okay! I don’t know if you can hear me. Hi.” Eddie said loudly, feeling stupid. His eyes landed on the pot, where he’d left it. “Thank you for⎯ for that.” He pointed at it. “But you don’t have to do that, you don’t have to help me.” He felt like that might be the wrong thing to say, hurriedly he added, “You don’t have to kill me or anything like that either. We can just⎯ I don’t know, share the house? Stay out of each other’s way.”

His words were met with silence.

Eddie sighed, running a hand down his face. “You might actually be losing your mind, Eddie. Jesus fucking christ, of course there’s no one there.” He muttered, shaking his head. 

“Yes, there is.” That voice said and even if he was slightly more prepared this time Eddie still screeched, reaching for whatever was closest to him, which turned out to be a frying pan, and whirled around in the direction of the sound. This time someone _ was _there, a man. “Boo!” He said.

Eddie flung the frying pan at him.

Not that it did anything, the pan went right through him, like Eddie had swung at a beam of light. The figure flickered for a second before appearing as solid as before. 

“Oh god, oh fuck.” Eddie muttered, closing and opening his eyes. “Am I seeing things?”

“Nope, I’m here⎯ as here as I can be at least.” 

Eddie blinked, his mouth forming an O. He didn’t know what he should say or do, so he stared. The man in front of him didn’t look like a ghost. He looked around Eddie’s age. He had dark hair, tangled and messy and blue eyes that looked slightly glassy, with pale skin and thick rimmed glasses. If the circumstances were different Eddie would even say that he was attractive.

“You okay buddy?”

Eddie shook his head, fingers twitching around the frying pan handle. “I⎯ I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, I get that you’re in shock. I know my looks are to die for.” He grinned, winking at Eddie. “Ha! Get it? To _ die _for?”

“Are you a ghost?” Eddie asked, ignoring the joke to ask what he knew was a stupid question. As if this man hadn’t just appeared out of nowhere and Eddie’s frying pan hadn’t gone right through him. 

He flashed Eddie a cocky grin. “I’m the ghost with the most, babe.”

“Oh shit.” 

“What, not a fan?”

“Of ghosts?” The man nodded. “Honestly, I never really believed in that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, it feels hard to believe even when you’re one, trust me.” He said with a snort.

“For how long have you⎯” Eddie awkwardly gestured at him.

“Been a ghost?” He cut in. “Uh, four years.”

“You don’t⎯ You don’t look dead.”

Another snort. “Don’t let my lively charm fool you. I am dead. Dead dead deadski, my dear Eds.” 

Eddie frowned. “What did you just call me?”

“Eds. It’s cuter than Eddie. Cute like you.” 

Eddie ignored the blush creeping on his face, he narrowed his eyes at him. “How do you know my name?” 

“I’ve been watching you.” He said, then he grimaced. “Fuck, that makes me sound like a creep, I’m sorry. It’s not like I’ve been watching you sleep or shower, that would be⎯ I’m not like that, I promise. But you have been living in my house and you talk to yourself a lot man, did you know that?”

“Well, I thought I was alone.” Eddie said and a thought occurred to him. “Are _ you _alone? Or are there others like you?”

“Nah, it’s just wee ol’ me Eds.” He said in a weird accent.

Eddie let out a relieved sigh, he didn’t think he could handle more than one ghost. “Do you have a name?”

The man lit up and grinned at Eddie, big and honest. “Yes, yes I do. I’m Richie, Richie Tozier.”

“Eddie Kaspbrak, but you already knew that.” He extended his hand for a handshake but let it drop awkwardly when he realized Richie probably couldn’t do that. “If it’s just you here then you’re the one who’s been scaring off the people who lived here.” 

Richie grimaced, looking almost apologetic. “I don’t like people moving into my house.”

“Were you trying to scare me off too?”

“No!” Richie’s eyes widened, he shook his head. “Not you, I like you.”

Eddie didn’t know how to respond to the ghost, Richie, liking him. “Okay, then what’s with the sneaking up on me and moving things around and turning the fucking TV on, dude?”

“That’s just me being bored. The dead life is pretty fucking dull.” He explained. “There’s not a lot to do around here.”

“And you can’t leave?”

“Nope. I’m fucking trapped.” 

“Well, if you can’t leave and I don’t want to have to move out, I guess that leaves us with only one option.”

“You’re gonna find an exorcist to get rid of me?” Richie asked with a suspicious look.

“I think exorcists are for demons.” Eddie chuckled, then he shook his head. “But no, I meant what I said before, I think we can live together.”

“You want to live here with me?” Eddie shrugged, Richie fanned himself, grinning. “Don’t you think we’re moving too fast Edsie baby? We just met!”

Eddie rolled his eyes, lips twitching into a smile. “Shut up, I’m serious. I’m used to having roommates, though I usually know them beforehand and they pay rent.” Richie snorted, Eddie shrugged. “But I think we can make it work, we just need some ground rules.”

“Like what?”

“Well first, you need to stop creeping around man, I don’t need to be wondering if you’re watching me all the time.” 

“You’re worried that I will see you dance around the house in short shorts?” Richie quirked an eyebrow at Eddie, smirking. 

“You saw that?” Eddie asked mortified. 

He laughed, holding his hands in defense. “I tried to look away, I swear but you’ve got some moves Eds.” 

Eddie covered his face with his hands, trying to remember just how embarrassing his solo dancing sessions had been. He’d thought he was alone so the answer was probably _ a lot _. He groaned. “Oh god, I want to die.” He froze, eyes widening when he looked up at Richie. “Shit. I’m sorry I didn’t mean⎯”

Richie cackled, throwing his head back. “Don’t worry about it Eds. I’ve come to terms with my death.” He said with one final chuckle. “And you don’t have to be embarrassed about your little dance numbers, they were fucking cute.” 

“You can’t tell anyone about that, if you tell anyone I’ll⎯”

“You’ll what? Kill me?” Richie asked with an amused grin. “You’re four years too late, babe. Besides, who am I gonna tell?”

Eddie’s ears were burning, he shrugged. “Anyway back to the rules⎯” Richie booed and Eddie rolled his eyes. “Bedroom and bathroom are off limits.”

Richie flashed him a shit-eating grin. “You don’t want me spying on your alone time.” Eddie glared at him. “Fine, done. Anything else, Eduardo?” 

Eddie’s mouth pressed into a tight line. “If I tell you not to call me any of those ridiculous names, would you actually do it?”

“What do you think?”

Eddie sighed, other than that no other rule came to mind except for⎯

“Stop walking around in the attic at night. It’s creepy and I can’t sleep.”

“Oh. That wasn’t me. That’s the rats.” Richie said in a serious tone before bursting into laughter when he saw the way Eddie’s eyes widened in terror. He held his hands up in defense when Eddie glared. “I’m just kidding. It was me, I’ll stop. I’ll float around at night.”

Eddie’s glare wavered, replaced by curiosity. “You can do that?”

“There are a lot of things I can do, baby.” He winked and Eddie blushed again.

“Is shutting up one of them?” 

“Nope.” 

“Great, so I’m stuck with a ghost who likes running his mouth and coming up with terrible nicknames.” 

Richie grinned at him and there was nothing Eddie could do but smile back, like it was contagious. “Say whatever you want Eddie, but I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Eddie wouldn’t say it out loud at the risk of Richie hearing him but he realized Richie was actually right. 

Over the next few weeks they became friends, if you could consider a ghost your friend. 

Sometimes Richie would still appear next to Eddie without a warning, almost giving him a heart attack. One time Eddie had been nodding off on the couch with the TV on when he heard Richie talk. 

“You’ll get a crick on your neck if you fall asleep like that.” 

“Fuck, Richie!” Eddie squealed, trying to get away from him and falling from the couch.

When he looked up, Richie was smirking down at him. “At least buy me dinner first.”

Eddie glowered, bunching up a blanket and throwing it at him. It went right through him. 

“We talked about this! No creeping around, you scared the shit out of me.”

“What do you want me to do? Wear a bell around my neck?”

“I don’t know, is that possible?” Eddie lifted himself from the ground, Richie let out a snort. “Just⎯ try not to give me a heart attack next time.”

“Aye aye cap’n.”

Eventually Richie got the hang of it, he would walk into the room Eddie was in instead of popping up right next to him. Eddie stopped hearing noises in the attic at night. Richie still called him stupid names but they were starting to grow on Eddie, just like Richie himself. 

And Eddie appreciated having some company. 

This was the first time Eddie was on his own having lived with his mother until he graduated college and then immediately moving in with Bill and Ben. When they told Eddie they would be moving out to go live with Mike and Bev, Eddie was happy for them but he was also worried that he wouldn’t be able to find a place for himself and end up having to go live with his mother. That was part of the reason he was so desperate to take this house whether it was haunted or not. Between living with a ghost and living with his mother, he would choose the ghost every single time. 

Eddie enjoyed having his own space now, but he was so used to sharing it that having Richie there with him felt normal, a lot like living with Ben and Bill. 

Richie slept in most days⎯ ghosts didn’t need sleep but Richie liked doing it anyways, to maintain some normalcy, he said. Eddie didn’t see him most mornings when he left for work but he was always there when he came back. He would keep Eddie company when he cooked dinner, talking his ear off or if Eddie was feeling particularly tired and ordered in, Richie would complain about his food choices.

“Come on Eds. That looks like vomit, why would you eat that?” 

Eddie shrugged, taking another bite just to bother Richie. “It’s good.”

“It’s fucking gross.” Richie grimaced, taking each bite as a personal offense. “Seriously man, do you have any idea what I would do to be able to eat a burger right now? And you’re wasting it on _ that _.”

“What do you think I should eat instead?” Eddie rolled his eyes. 

He knew he’d said the wrong thing when Richie’s face broke into a grin. “I have something for you right here.” He said lewdly, making Eddie choke on his food while blushing furiously. “It would make you choke too.”

That sent Eddie into a raging coughing fit while Richie laughed and tried to thump him in the back. The first time it worked but the second time his hand went right through Eddie’s chest, making a shiver run down his spine, suddenly feeling cold. The third time the same thing happened and Eddie scrambled away before he could do it a fourth time. 

“Stop putting your hand in me!” 

“That’s not what your mom said last night.” 

Eddie threw what was left of his dinner at Richie, which only meant he had to scrub it off the floor later. 

Over the next weeks, he found himself spending more and more time with him. Eddie had friends, Bill and Ben as well as Mike and Beverly and he saw them often enough. He had friends at work and he would go out for drinks with them occasionally at the end of the day but even then, most of his time was spent home with Richie. 

If Eddie had work to do then he would sit in the study or the living room and listen to Richie talk. Somehow, he never ran out of things to say⎯ even if there were topics he always avoided. He never talked about his parents. There had been times when he came close to mentioning them when talking about his past life, but he would always stop himself and Eddie was too worried about overstepping to ask about them. 

Eddie talked to Richie about himself too, if not as much. He would tell Richie about his friends, about his job and on one occasion, about his mother, how she lied to Eddie most of his life and made him feel weak and sick. After that, Richie’s mom jokes subsided a little. 

On nights that Eddie didn’t have anything to do, they would watch movies together. Richie had missed a lot of films in the past four years and Eddie would find himself searching and downloading movies he thought Richie would like during office hours, so that they could watch them at night. 

When he was alive, Richie had been a fan of scary movies, unlike Eddie who didn’t really enjoy them⎯ not believing in the things that appeared in those movies didn’t make the jumpscares more manageable. One time, Richie finally managed to convince Eddie to watch a ghost movie. He prepared himself to spend two hours with his eyes closed but he was surprised when he ended up laughing his way through the whole movie, so hard that his stomach started to hurt. 

“I can’t believe I ever liked ghost movies. What the fuck is that?” Richie frowned, pointing at the screen where a ghost was trying to scare someone by throwing a white sheet over themselves and hovering in the hallway. It was ridiculous. “That’s not scary! I can do a better job scaring people away than those losers.”

“You couldn’t scare _ me _away.” Eddie pointed out, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“I never wanted to scare you way, Eds! Why would I get rid of the cutest piece of eye candy to ever set foot in my house?” 

Eddie’s cheeks turned red, he still rolled his eyes. “Just face it Richie, you’re just not scary enough.”

“Not scary enough?” Richie quirked eyebrow, accepting the challenge. “Oh, I’ll show you scary.”

Before Eddie could ask what he meant, Richie closed his eyes and when he opened them, his eyeballs were gone, sockets hollow and bloody, his skin turned paper white and his lips were tinted blue, mouth hanging open and spluttering water. He looked awful, _ dead _⎯

Eddie screamed and ran to his room. 

The next day was spent with Richie apologizing, but when night came he still sat on the couch with him and watched cooking shows reruns. 

It was easy, being with Richie. He could make Eddie laugh, frown and blush all at the same time. He had an ability⎯ his dead sixth sense, he called it⎯ to know when Eddie had a bad day and how to cheer him up. He didn’t let Eddie get so caught up in work that he forgot to eat or sleep. He was nice and funny, handsome and charismatic and⎯

Eddie wasn’t dumb, he could recognize the beginnings of a crush but he chose to ignore that, pretending he was just appreciating every aspect of Richie, if only a bit too much. 

It was harder to ignore when your long time friends pointed it out to you. 

Bill and Ben came over for dinner, Eddie asked Richie to stay invisible and silent the entire time, even if the temptation to ask him to play a prank on Ben almost won. 

“I still can’t believe you have so much space.” Bill said, once they sat down to eat. “Your place is bigger than mine and Mike’s apartment and we’re sharing that.”

Eddie wanted to say he was also sharing this house but instead, he shrugged. “You’re the one who moved out on me, Bill. You don’t get to complain that I have more space than you.”

Ben laughed, taking a sip of water. “But seriously Eddie doesn’t it bother you? Being here by yourself?”

“Not by himself. He has his ghost friend.” Bill joked, Eddie hid a smile behind his hand. If only Bill knew how right he was. 

Ben glared at him like he did whenever ghosts were mentioned, he was still wary of the house. “I mean, don’t you get lonely?” He pressed on, his trademark _ I worry about you Eddie _ look directed at him. 

Something caught Eddie’s eye behind Ben. He would’ve brushed it off as a trick of the light if he didn’t know better, he already knew Richie wouldn’t be able to stay away for long. Eddie didn’t realize he was smiling into empty space until Bill gasped loudly. 

“Unless you’re not alone.” He said, narrowing his eyes at Eddie. He tried to put on an innocent expression but it didn’t work. “Oh my god! I know that smile!” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you, Eddie and I know that fucking smile. You have a crush on someone!”

Eddie tried to keep his face blank but he was aware that his poker face sucked. There was probably a crease between his eyebrows and his mouth was probably turned downwards and he knew he looked guilty as fuck.

“You do?” Ben asked, eyes darting between him and Bill. 

“No, I don’t!” 

“Who is he?”

“No one. There’s no one, okay?” 

“I don’t believe you.” Bill was smiling, taking pleasure out of teasing Eddie. “Wait, is this the guy you had over the last time I called you?”

Eddie’s eyes widened before he could help it. He remembered that day, he didn’t have anyone over, the guy Bill had heard through the phone was Richie, asking what movie they would watch that night.

“Wait, what?” Ben asked in amusement.

“Yeah. I was talking to Eddie and then someone asked him something about a movie⎯ oh fuck, was that a date?” 

Eddie was blushing, turning a deeper shade of red every passing minute. Especially when he saw something moving behind Bill. Great, Richie was hearing all of this. 

“I’m⎯ That wasn’t a date. He’s just a friend.”

Ben perked up, a glint in his eyes. “But there _ is _someone? What’s his name?” 

Eddie blamed it on his embarrassment that he couldn’t think of a fake name to give to them. “Richie.”

Bill and Ben grinned madly, practically bouncing in their seats. “Oh, Richie. What’s he like?”

“Where did you meet him?”

“For how long have you liked him?”

“I don’t like him!”

“Bullshit.” They both said at the same time. 

The rest of the meal was spent with Ben and Bill teasing Eddie about his crush (It’s not a crush!) and Eddie blushing furiously (Aw look, he’s blushing! It’s definitely a crush!). Eddie silently prayed that Richie wasn’t listening, but he was certain that he heard a third person laughing at him, along with Ben and Bill. 

When dinner was over, Eddie walked his friends to the door and watched them leave. When he turned around Richie was standing in the middle of the hallway, smirking at him. 

“Shit, Richie! You scared me, you fucking asshole!”

“Come on Eds, that’s not how you talk to someone you have a crush on.” 

Eddie’s blush was back in his face in a second, he walked past Richie with a huff. “You weren’t supposed to eavesdrop.” He started cleaning the table just to have something to do. “And I don’t have a fucking crush on you.”

“That’s not what Billy and Benny said.” Richie singsonged, Eddie glared at him. “I can’t say I noticed that you get heart eyes when you say my name but hey, I don’t know you like they do.”

“They don’t know shit!”

Richie ignored him, his grin was huge and teasing. “I’m flattered Eds. I never pegged you as a necrophiliac though.”

“That’s disgusting. Fuck you.”

“Exactly.” Richie winked, making Eddie even more flustered. He abandoned the table to start doing the dishes, turning his back on Richie. “I like them, your friends. They seem nice.” He said, hovering near Eddie. He could feel him there but refused to look at him. “And they’re hot, both of them. You’re still the hotter friend though.” 

Eddie snorted, but a pleased smile still found its way to his face. 

“I wish I could’ve talked to them.” Now that Richie wasn’t making fun of him, Eddie felt himself start to relax, listening to Richie ramble. “Don’t get me wrong, I love talking to you but it would be nice to get to know other people.”

Eddie scoffed, glancing at Richie. “I don’t think they would be as understanding about the ghost thing as I am.” Ben would freak out and leave the house faster than Richie could say boo. He might have more luck with Bill, he would probably ask Richie a lot of questions about ghosts for one of his horror stories but Eddie didn’t think he would be okay with living with one. 

“Then I guess I’m fucking lucky that it was you who moved in here and not them.” Richie said, smiling softly at Eddie who flicked soap suds at him. 

With Halloween around the corner, Eddie found himself digging out his costume box from the back of his closet. Bill and Mike would be hosting a party at their apartment next week and he needed to see which of his costumes from past years he could use again. 

He almost knocked himself in the head when he pulled on the box too hard and it came tumbling down, along with something else. A framed photo. Eddie didn’t own a lot of those, one or two with Ben and Bill taken over their years together but those were back in the living room. He didn’t know how one of them could’ve ended up in his closet, unless Richie forgot that Eddie’s room was off limits. 

He picked it up, turning it around in his hands and gasped. It wasn’t his, but he recognized one of the three people in the photo. The one in the middle. Even if he looked slightly younger, there was no question that it was Richie squished between a man and a woman who had to be his parents. The man had the same blue eyes, while the woman had Richie’s smile. They looked happy, Richie’s grin the biggest of the three. Eddie couldn’t help but smile. 

He grabbed the photo, ignoring the costumes that had scattered on the floor and walking out of his room. 

“Richie?” 

“What’s up Eds?” He heard Richie’s response come from above, probably the attic. 

“I want to show you something.” 

Eddie jumped when the staircase to the attic dropped in front of him, Richie peeking through the opening. “Come on up.” Eddie hesitated, he’d never been to the attic before. He considered it to be Richie’s room, which made it feel like it was off limits for him. Richie had never asked him to join him until now. “Andale Eduardo, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Because I’m out of those.”

“Asshole.” Eddie huffed, carefully climbing the staircase.

Richie was waiting for him with a grin and his arms open wide. “Welcome to my room, Eds.” He said. “Beware of the rats.”

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help glancing around nervously. “The only pest here is you.” Eddie told Richie who grinned, somehow delighted to be insulted by him. 

Eddie to look around. There wasn’t much to see, the place was dark, the only light coming from a window through which Eddie could see the sun was starting to set. There was a couch covered with a blanket, an old radio and a few paintings piled against the wall. 

“I love what you’ve done with the place.” Eddie said with sarcasm, mouth curled up in a playful smile.

“Hey, rude.” Richie said but he smiled back. His eyes zeroed in on Eddie’s hands. “Whatcha got there cutey?” 

“Oh.” Eddie said, remembering why he was there in the first place. “Here, I think it belongs to you.” He held out the picture, Richie moved closer and when he saw it he let out a shaky exhale. “That’s you, right? With your parents?”

“Where did you⎯” 

“I found it in my room, in the back of the closet.” Eddie replied when Richie’s voice cracked mid-question. 

“They must have left it behind.” He muttered quietly. 

Richie reached over for the picture, a lost look on his face. Eddie let go of it and winced when it hit the ground, going right through Richie’s hand. “Shit sorry.” He said, picking it up and placing it next to the old radio, Richie’s eyes following the action. Eddie knew Richie had gotten pretty good at controlling whether he could touch things or not, but he’d told Eddie once that if he was overwhelmed with emotion, he could lose focus and un-materialize by accident. He seemed pretty overwhelmed now. 

“I figured you would want to have it.” Eddie said to break the silence but Richie didn’t answer, he just stared at the picture, his eyes glistening. “Rich, are you okay?” He shook his head and Eddie’s face fell. “Fuck, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have⎯”

“No, no Eds.” Richie paused, he was frowning. “I’m glad you showed me.”

“You don’t look like you mean that.”

“I do, I’m just⎯” He glanced down at the picture again, tracing the frame with his fingers. “It's a lot, that's all." 

“Oh, okay.” He felt the need to give Richie some space, so he started to retreat towards the door. “I’m just gonna leave then.”

"When my parents sold the house," Richie started, unprompted and Eddie froze on the spot, listening. "I tried to stop them. I tried to tell them that I was still here so that they wouldn't leave me but I didn't know⎯ I didn't have the whole being a ghost thing figured out yet. I tried hiding pictures like that one, but I had no idea how to make myself touch things either and they left. That old radio and the paintings were all that was left behind. The radio was my dad's and the paintings were my mother's. And they were the only things I had to remember them by, until now. I thought I would never see them again." Richie said. Eddie was taken aback for a moment, because he didn’t think a ghost could cry but that was definitely sniffling he’d heard. "I thought I would forget what they looked like."

Eddie moved closer, standing next to Richie and also staring at the picture. "Now you won't." He said, instinctively reaching to place a comforting hand on Richie's arm. He realized what he was doing when it was too late to stop himself, but he was surprised when his hand met something solid. It was the first time Eddie touched Richie. The few times they’ve come in contact before it was Richie who initiated it, for some reason, Eddie thought he couldn't touch him unless Richie consciously made it possible.

That didn't seem to be the case though because Richie looked just as surprised to feel Eddie's hand on him. They were silent, their eyes darting between the other's face and the place where they were touching. This was the closest Eddie had ever been to Richie and it was making his stomach swoop and his brain go into overdrive. 

_ You're touching Richie. He's dead. But he feels so alive. He's a ghost. You could hug him if you tried. You're alive, he's not. You could even kiss him. Yes, kiss him⎯ _

Eddie dropped his hand and took a step back, shaking his head to clear it from those thoughts. His eyes settled on the picture again. 

"I'm sorry." He said and it took him a moment to realize what he was referring to. "I'm sorry that you died. I don't think I ever said it, but I am. I'm sorry that your parents left and that you couldn't say goodbye to them. I'm sorry I invaded your house and now you're stuck with me. I'm just sorry."

When he looked up, Richie was giving him a curious look, mouth slowly twitching into a smile. "Thanks Eds, no one's ever said that to me." He said. "You don't have to apologize for the last part though, you moving in is the best thing that happened to me⎯"

"Let me guess, since my mother." Eddie quirked an eyebrow at him. 

"I was going to say since I died and stopped having to pee but yeah, that too." Richie grinned. Eddie frowned and returned the grin at the same time, his face always in a constant battle with how his brain thought he should act around Richie. 

"You've never asked how I died." Richie said one day while they played video games. Eddie was winning, mostly because Richie would get distracted talking and his controller would slip from his hands giving Eddie the advantage while he scrambled to grab it back.

Eddie shrugged. "I didn't know if I'm allowed to?" He said. "It felt like asking a woman her age or something."

"God, you're adorable." 

"Fuck off." Eddie snapped, finishing off Richie's character with a triumphant smile.

"You can ask, you know." Richie said when they switched the video games for an action movie. Eddie frowned at him, confused. "How I died. I won't snap at you or anything."

"Oh, okay." He turned around on the couch, facing Richie. "How did you die?"

"Why, I'm glad you asked Eddie. It was on a tragic summer night⎯" He started with a low dramatic voice that made Eddie roll his eyes. Richie snickered. "There isn't much to tell actually. I was visiting my parents, I took a little time off from my job to spend the summer with them. I was driving home after getting some milk when a bunch of kids just appeared out of nowhere. I drove my car off the bridge trying to avoid them."

"You drowned?" Eddie asked, horrified. Richie nodded. "That's awful." 

"You got that right." 

"Do you remember what it was like?" 

Richie pursed his lips, mulling it over. "Sometimes when I sleep I dream about it and then I wake up gasping for air, which is stupid because I don't even breathe but yeah, I remember how it felt."

"I always thought you died in the house, since you're trapped here."

"Yeah, no. I don't know what's up with that."

Eddie shrugged, playing with a loose thread on the couch. "Maybe if you die outside you go home and get trapped there." He said with a frown.

"That's what I thought, but I still don't know why I didn't end up in my apartment in California instead of here, at my parents house."

"Maybe you never stopped thinking of this place like home?" Eddie supplied, Richie hummed in agreement. "I wonder where I would end up if I died," He continued, mostly talking to himself. "Because it definitely wouldn't be my mother's house."

"Maybe you'd end up here, with me." Richie suggested, a hint of a smile in his voice.

"And be trapped with you for eternity? God no." He said, smiling. "I think you're right though, if I had to choose a place to call home it would be this."

"Aww Eds.” Richie cooed. “I can't wait for you to die."

"What the fuck Richie? That's so morbid. I'm not dying yet." Eddie wailed, Richie didn’t even try to hide his laughter. 

"I mean, you don't know that. I didn't know I was gonna die that day on the bridge and then I did." Richie shrugged. "You could die tomorrow for all we know, you might want to start putting more thought into what you wear every day, you don't want to end up with a lame ghost outfit."

Eddie smirked, giving Richie's chest a pointed look. "You're right. The last thing I want is to end up wearing a shirt with little cactus wearing sombreros for eternity."

"Hey!"

Ben and Bill were convinced that Eddie was dating Richie. At first, he’d tried to convince them otherwise but he’d long since stopped trying. It was easier to let them believe that than explaining that yes, he might have a crush on Richie but no, he was not dating him because Richie happened to be dead. 

Since Bill thought they were together, he didn’t see a problem in asking Eddie to bring Richie to their Halloween party. Eddie couldn’t exactly tell him that Richie couldn’t leave their house, so he gave a half hearted excuse that Bill didn’t really buy, luckily he didn’t push either.

“Bill wants me to bring you to his Halloween party.” Eddie said a few days later while trying on old Halloween costumes and showing them to Richie. 

Richie’s face broke into a grin. “I love Halloween parties!”

“Of course you do.”

Eddie watched Richie’s face fall as realization hit him. “Wait, but I can’t leave the house.” He said, Eddie grimaced apologetically. “This fucking blows.” 

“Sorry, I would take you if I could.” Eddie said without thinking. 

“Yeah? You would take me as your date?” 

Eddie blushed at Richie’s smirk. “No, as a friend.”

Richie’s smirk turned into a giddy smile. “Aww Eds, you called me your friend!” He cooed, laughing when Eddie threw a pom pom from an old cheerleader costume at him. Richie had been very disappointed when Eddie told him that costume didn’t fit anymore and complained loudly about it. 

“I take it back.”

“You can’t.” Richie said, staring Eddie up and down. “What are you supposed to be right now anyway?”

“A devil.”

“It's just you wearing a pair of horns."

Eddie shrugged, as if saying _ yeah, so? _ And Richie heaved a dramatic sigh. "It's lame Eds."

"Like you could do any better." 

"I could and I did, I won best costume at every Halloween party I ever attended." Richie said with a proud grin, which turned into a frown. "It fucking figures that now that I have the spookiest costume, no one can see it." 

Eddie shivered because he'd seen it and it still haunted him. "It's probably for the best, you don't want to scar people for life."

Richie gasped in mock offense. "I'm not that ugly am I, Eds?" 

Eddie bit down on his lower lip to stop his smile. "No, I guess not." 

He locked himself in the bathroom to try on another one of his costumes before Richie could tease him for his answer. 

In the end, none of Eddie’s old costumes received Richie’s stamp of approval and feeling bad that he couldn’t take him to the party, Eddie agreed to let Richie come up with one that wasn’t lame.

A few days later, Eddie was helping Bill to find a costume of his own when Mike called him. 

"Hey Mike, I'm with Eddie right now⎯ what? What do you mean flooded? Shit. How long⎯ two weeks?" Bill sighed. "Yeah okay. We'll talk later. I love you too."

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked when the call ended. 

"A pipe broke and flooded our apartment, Mike says it's going to take at least a couple of weeks before they fix it and the place is back to normal."

"That sucks Billy." 

"Yeah." He said, putting back the costume he’d picked up. "I guess I won't be needing that. No way we're having the party now."

Eddie pursed his lips, feeling slightly disappointed, he had actually had been looking forward to the party. "And you can't have the party somewhere else?" 

"We won't find a place in two days, unless⎯" He narrowed his eyes at Eddie.

"Unless what?" 

"Unless you let us have the party at your house." Eddie opened his mouth to argue but Bill held a finger up in front of him. "Please, we'll bring the food and the decorations and I promise, we'll help you clean everything after."

Eddie thought of saying no, he didn't like the idea of a bunch of strangers coming to his house and messing up the place. But then he thought about Richie, trapped in that house and how excited he had been about the Halloween party until he remembered he couldn't go, how he was always saying he wanted to meet new people but couldn’t do it anymore. This was the perfect opportunity for it. 

If Eddie held the party at his place Richie could go, he would be happy and Eddie would be the one to make it possible.

"Okay." Eddie said and Bill's eyebrows disappeared behind his hair. 

"Yeah?"

"Sure, yeah but if something happens to my house, you're responsible."

Bill nodded and grinning, he grabbed the costume from before and disappeared into the changing rooms. 

"Hey Rich!" Eddie said when he returned home a few hours later. He met Eddie in the hallway. 

"Welcome home, pumpkin." He grinned. "You're in a good mood." 

"I have a surprise for you." 

Richie's eyebrows flew up, his eyes shining with excitement. "You found a cheerleader costume that fits?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, cheeks pinking up. "No numbnuts. You're going to the Halloween party."

Richie frowned. "Uh, I can't leave the house Eds you know that."

"You won't have to. We're having the party here.” Eddie explained. “Bill’s apartment got flooded and they needed a place and I figured if we did it here, you could come. You looked like you really wanted to go and I thought⎯”

“You did it for me?” 

Eddie shrugged, starting to get flustered because of Richie’s soft expression. “Well yeah but also because it would be a shame if the party got cancelled and no one got to see my costume.” 

“Yeah, that would be a shame.” Richie said, his smile affectionate. 

Eddie fidgeted under his stare, he cleared his throat. “Speaking of costumes, I got you one.”

“I don’t need a costume Eds.” Richie said. “I _ am _the costume.”

Eddie shook his head. “I’m not letting you terrorize my friends Rich.” 

Richie pouted, looking like a kid throwing a tantrum. “But Eds⎯”

“That’s my only condition or you’re staying in the attic the entire night.” 

“Damn Eds I get all tingly when you take control like that.” Richie smirked, eliciting an eye roll from Eddie. “Fine, the costume it is. Show me.”

Eddie grinned, reaching inside a bag too pull out a white sheet, giving Richie a knowing look. 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”

The day of the party came and Eddie made Richie hide in the attic when Bill and Mike showed up to help with the decorations, Ben and Bev showing up later with the food. Eddie was getting ready in his room when he felt a presence behind him. 

“Happy Halloween, pumpkin.” Richie said, sitting on the bed.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

“You can’t blame me Eds, you’ve had me locked up in that attic all day and I’ve missed you.” 

Eddie’s mouth twitched into a smile, silently admitting he’d missed Richie too. “Fine, since you’re here, come help me with my backpack.” 

After Eddie told Richie the story of how Mike, Ben, Bill and him dressed up as the Ghostbusters a few years ago, he insisted that should be Eddie’s costume. Apparently, Richie loved that movie and not even being an actual ghost had managed to change that. 

“Eds, if I could dress up as Egon Spengler and yell ‘your mother!’ all night, I fucking would.” He told Eddie, while they searched for a cheap costume online. Eddie’s old one didn’t fit anymore but he was able to find a good one, proton pack and all, for a fair price. He was happy with it, even if he had to put up with Richie singing the Ghostbusters song for a few days after that. 

“How do I look?” 

Richie grinned down at him. They were standing close, chests almost touching. “Like the cuter ghostbuster I’ve ever seen.” 

Eddie’s cheeks were tinted pink, from the proximity and the compliment. He cleared his throat, “Where’s your costume?”

“I don’t think it even deserves to be called that.” Richie groaned, reaching for the white sheet on the closet and throwing it over himself. Eddie didn’t need to see him to know he was frowning underneath it. 

“Don’t insult my hard work.” Eddie mocked. His hard work consisted of him cutting two holes for Richie’s eyes, drawing a big spooky smile where his mouth should be and cutting the sheet in jagged lines at the bottom for a ragged effect. In his opinion, it actually looked pretty cool. 

Richie sighed, white sheet sagging. “Are you seriously making me wear this? This is an insult to ghosts Eddie, _ to myself _.”

“Come on Rich, I can’t be a ghostbuster without, you know, a ghost.” Eddie said, big brown eyes staring up pleadingly at Richie. 

“Are you gonna bust me, Eds?” Richie asked, Eddie didn’t need to see him to know he was smirking. “Do you want a dose of a freaky ghost, baby?”

“Do you want to be confined to the attic, Rich?” Eddie shot back but with no real heat considering he was laughing.

Richie mimicked zipping up his lips and throwing away the key but Eddie knew that wouldn’t last. He grabbed Richie’s hand over the sheet and dragged him out of the room. He managed to sneak Richie and him into the living room without anyone seeing that the direction in which they came from was the bedroom and not the front door. As soon as they stepped into the party, Bill and Ben were in front of him. 

“You didn’t tell us you’d be dressing as a ghostbuster!” Ben said, dressed as a mummy himself.

“We could’ve matched!” Bill said, he was dressed as a zombie and Bev had helped him with his make up. He actually looked dead. Dead-er than Richie and he was actually, well, dead. 

“Well, he’s already matching with someone.” Richie said, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulder. It was weird, feeling Richie press against him through the sheet. 

Ben and Bill’s eyes snapped towards him, Bill’s face broke into a grin. “You must be Richie.” 

“That’s me, Richie the ghost.” Eddie tensed slightly, Richie let out a carefree laugh. “At least for tonight.”

His friends chuckled and Eddie let out a strained laugh himself. “Did you come up with the costume?” Ben asked. 

“No, that was Eds. I wanted something spookier.” He said, hip checking Eddie. He knew he must be blushing from all the casual contact and wished he was the one with a sheet over his face. “But if a cute guy asks you to be their _boo_⎯ Well, you say yes.”

“That’s sweet.” Ben smiled, Bill had a shit-eating grin on his face. Eddie knew there was no way he could convince them that Richie and him weren’t dating after this. 

“I’m sure I didn’t phrase it like that.” Eddie said, trying to salvage a bit of his dignity. 

“No, you said you would lock me in the attic if I didn’t do it, but I was trying to make it sound more romantic, baby.” Richie said with a laugh and Eddie gulped. Yeah, no way he would convince them now. 

“I need a drink.” Eddie wriggled away from Richie, Ben moving join him.

“Did you know there’s supposed to be an actual ghost in this house?” Eddie heard Bill tell Richie as they walked away.

“Oh really? I don’t really believe in ghosts, you know.” Richie said, catching Eddie’s eye and winking. 

Eddie chuckled, feeling Ben’s eyes on him. He was giving him his _ I told you so _look.

“What?” 

“You’re still going to pretend you guys aren’t together?”

“We’re not, Ben.”

“You’re wearing matching costumes, he calls you baby and cute, should I go on?”

“That’s not⎯ that doesn’t mean we’re together.”

“But you do like him.” Ben said and it wasn’t a question. It was a good thing because Eddie didn’t have an answer. “And I think he likes you.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, grabbing a bottle from the back of his fridge. “You talked to him for like five minutes.”

“I only needed a minute to see the way he looks at you.” 

Eddie choked on his drink, spluttering. “You’re too fucking romantic for your own good, dude.”

Ben chuckled, grabbing a drink for himself. “Maybe but I’m not the one who asked a guy to be my boo.” 

“Fuck you! I didn’t!” Eddie said and just like that, the conversation turned lighthearted again. 

The party was fun and Eddie enjoyed himself, especially when he saw how much fun Richie was having. Eddie was sure he’d talked to everyone in the house at least once, jumping from conversation to conversation, never running out of things to say. For so long, he didn’t have anyone to talk to and then he had Eddie, but even him, with his tendency to go into rants and his rapid speaking, couldn’t keep up with Richie most of the time. 

He got along with all of Eddie’s friends too. He challenged Mike to a bowling match in the hallway, using empty bottles as bowling pins, sang karaoke with Ben, danced to the crappy music playing from the speakers with Bev and spent an hour talking to Bill about ghosts, sending conspiratorial winks at Eddie every once in a while. They thought it was a bit weird that Richie never took off his costume since they all lost pieces of theirs as the night went on. Richie shrugged it off with a laugh,_ I don’t want anyone to take one look at me and take off, screaming. _ Eddie nearly choked on his beer.

Richie also took the time to be with Eddie, making sure to always be touching him, the sheet between them acting like a safety blanket. Ben and Bill caught Eddie staring at him several times and not even he could deny that the way he looked at Richie was overly affectionate and not platonic at all. He found himself caring less and less as the night dragged on. 

The party was almost over when whoever was in charge of the music thought it was a good idea to play the Ghostbusters song. Richie’s eyes lit up, meeting Eddie’s and he barely had time to put his drink down before Richie was pulling him to his feet with a, “It’s your song Eds!” and dragging him to the center of the living room to dance, except⎯

“Richie this isn’t a song you can’t dance to.” Eddie laughed, watching the sheet shake with Richie’s movements. 

“Every song is a song you can dance to, babe.” He said, grabbing both of Eddie’s hands and moving them to the beat of the music. “Now let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose.”

Eddie let Richie move him around. It was awkward and embarrassing and Eddie laughed harder than he had in a long time, singing along with Richie. 

He let out a loud laugh when Richie started shimming. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“Oh, you love it Eds.”

After a while, Eddie’s friends joined them, dancing around them and pushing Eddie against Richie in the small space. Richie dropped his hands to hold on to Eddie’s waist instead. 

Eddie was grinning so hard his face was starting to hurt. He didn’t need to see Richie to know that he was grinning down at him too but he wanted to see him, he wanted⎯

_ But you do like him, and I think he likes you, I only needed a minute to see the way he looks at you _.

“Fuck this.” Eddie muttered and reached up to cradle Richie’s face over the sheet, pulling him down and pressing a kiss where the painted mouth was. Eddie heard Richie’s sharp intake of breath and he wasn’t kissing back. He wasn’t pushing away either. 

“Eds.” Richie whispered, Eddie didn’t feel his lips move against his. “You’re kissing my nose.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, blushing furiously and letting go, falling back on his heels. He could feel his friends staring at them, probably some strangers as well. 

“Come on.” Richie said, grabbing Eddie’s wrist, Eddie planted himself on the spot.

“Where?” He asked dumbly. 

“Someplace where I can take this fucking sheet off and kiss you properly.” 

“Oh.”

Richie dragged them to the first door he found but when they made it inside, he hesitated. It made Eddie nervous. 

“Did you change your mind?” 

“No! Fuck no, I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you Eds, long before you even saw me.”

Eddie’s stomach fluttered, his lips twitching into a smile. “I wish I could say the same but the first time I saw you I was too busy trying not to freak out.”

“And trying to hit me with a frying pan.” Richie added with a chuckle. 

“Yeah, that too.”

For a second, they just stood there, smiling at each other until Richie cleared his throat. “I just want to say, I really like you Eds and I know we can’t ignore the fact that I’m⎯ well, dead. I get that can be a deal breaker to you but it isn’t for me, I’ve never liked anyone this much, not even when I was alive.”

“You sap.”

Richie let out a snort, he shrugged. “I told you I could be romantic.”

Eddie reached up to touch Richie’s hair, a curl that always seemed to be out of place. “I know I should be freaked out about liking a ghost but surprisingly I’m not. I guess it’s because you’re so much more to me than just that.”

“Aw hold me Eds. That was beautiful.” Richie said, dramatically clutching at his chest but he was grinning, big and honest. 

“I think I’d rather kiss you.”

This time when he cradled Richie’s face and surged up to clumsily press his mouth to Richie’s there was no sheet in the way. 

Eddie had wondered if kissing a ghost would be any different than kissing a person and it was, but he guessed it had more to do with the fact that this was Richie. His lips were a bit cold, Eddie noticed, but still he felt warmth seeping into his chest the way it did when he was on the receiving end of Richie’s touch.

The light above them flickered and Eddie’s eyes fluttered open. “Was that you?” He muttered against Richie’s lips, his eyes were closed and there was a crease between his eyebrows. “Why are you frowning?”

“Hmm?” Richie pulled back, eyes dazed when he opened them. “Oh. I’m⎯ I’m focusing real hard right now so I don’t disappear.” Now that he could see Richie, he noticed a slight flicker underneath the surface. Richie must’ve noticed that Eddie noticed because his frown deepened. “Shit, was that too weird?”

Eddie let out a chuckle. “I’m making out with the ghost who is haunting my house. Weird doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.”

“What about your friends?” Eddie quirked an eyebrow in question, _ what about them? _“What will they think?”

“They already think we’re together.” Eddie shrugged. “I’ll just keep the ghost thing to myself.”

“But what about⎯”

“_ Richie _.”

“What?”

“Let me worry about that okay? And I know I will but for now, will you just kiss me?”

Richie heaved a sigh but he was grinning. “I guess.” He leaned down, connecting their lips one more time. 

Eddie melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Richie’s shoulders in an attempt to drag him closer but there was something standing in the way. “Wait⎯” Eddie muttered against Richie’s mouth. “My proton blaster is in the way.”

Richie snorted loudly, breaking the kiss. “That’s a weird name for your dick Eds.”

Eddie spluttered, ears turning red. “You⎯” He huffed, shaking his head. “Sometimes I wish you weren’t dead just so I could kill you myself.”

Richie threw his head back, his entire face scrunching up in laughter and Eddie felt himself slip into what he knew was an overly sappy grin. Yeah, his brain might’ve been already coming up with problems and questions that he had no answer to⎯ _ what will you tell your friends when you can’t bring Richie anywhere? When you don’t post pictures with him? When he screws up and turns invisible in front of one of them? _

But right now, Eddie was content with pulling Richie in and letting his lips distract him.

**Epilogue**

_ Years later _

“Welcome home Eds.” 

Eddie opened his eyes to see Richie smiling at him. At first, nothing struck him as out of the ordinary, he was home and Richie was there with him, the usual. So what if he didn’t remember leaving work or driving home or getting out of the car or⎯

“Fuck. I’m dead, am I?”

“Dead dead deadski, I’m afraid.” Richie said with a grimace.

“I guess now I’m stuck with you for real, huh?” Eddie heaved out a sigh but there was a hint of a smile. 

“I think that’s the least of your concerns right now.” Richie bit on his lower lip, trying to hold back laughter while staring at Eddie’s chest. “Remember when you said you wouldn’t want to wander for eternity wearing lame clothes?”

Eddie’s eyes widened, looking down at himself, feeling like dying all over again. “A fucking hospital gown?”

Richie shrieked with laughter. “I personally love it Eds. Now I can stare at your thighs for all eternity.” 

Eddie glowered. “I’m going to fucking kill you.” 

“Too late for that, babe.” Richie winked. 

Eddie still tried. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, leave a comment or come find me on tumblr [jem-castairs-is-perfection](http://jem-carstairs-is-perfection.tumblr.com/)


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